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that's so weird, i brought up that exact play to someone just the other day as an example of the tough mentality our entire defense should have. i would settle for even just a couple few guys having that mentality at this point.

Missing tackles is probably our biggest problem. I don't think going for kill shots is going to help our cause/

I saw a lot of our defenders going for the big hit like they were playing NCAA Football 14 and not wrapping up a runner/receiver like glue. Instead, they glanced off the guy with the ball and surrendered another 3+ YAC. We need better fundamentals.

They probably don't need to watch that. Sure it's swagger, but trying to hit like that is the reason we couldn't tackle. What's so wrong with a fundamental tackle and actually wrapping up? Back to basics. We don't need to go for the "home run" blow up hit.

The play picked up a first down. The taunting resulted in a personal foul penalty. And none of that mattered. Swearinger sent a message and nobody on Clemson forgot that hit the rest of the night.

Have an attitude. Don't just tackle. Punish.

I know what you are trying to say, but I would prefer that they just tackle vs. attempting to "punish". I'd prefer an Emmanuel Cook style tackle (although he certainly landed big hits sometimes as well) with a good wrapup over constant attempts at highlight hits with a heavy dose of whiffs and overpursuit.

That is what this defense is missing. A vocal leader, who can align the defense from play to play. Cant remember how many times I noticed our guys just looking around with their hands in the air, not knowing what the hell was going on.

I will be happy if they simply try to tackle instead of everyone trying to strip the ball. The way I've always been taught is the first guy wraps up the runner, and if he's still upright, the next person tries to rip out the ball.

Also, Swearinger had/has an incredible competitive spirit and ferociousness, but his tackling is HORRIBLE. Off the top of my head, I can't remember anytime he actually wrapped up instead of going for the kill shot. I'm sure there were plenty of times he did, and he still managed to get the job done more times than not, but I most definitely do NOT want the current guys emulating the style of "hit first, tackle later".

Swearinger was good for Clowney. Once he left, it was up to Clowney. Clowney unfortunately was not a good leader but still had Quarles. Now we really have no one apparently wanting to step up and lead. Young D. And you had the guys who left for the Pros (who just got cut by the way...what a shame...we need them!) who would have been a huge help to us this year. Not sure how we keep these guys who think they have a shot when in reality they should really wait and continue to develop for the pros while helping us at the same time.

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